Chicago Tribune |
March 21, 2013

"Jewish Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook" (Crocodile Books, $25) is filled with lovely illustrations by collage artist Sima Elizabeth Shefrin. There are 18 recipes, including latkes, kugel and blintzes, spiced with an equal number of folktales.

Whether it's "The Latke Miracle" or "The Wheat Came in at the Door" or "How to Know a Noodle," Yolen's storytelling enriches each folktale.

That food and folktales are so intertwined shouldn't be surprising. They are among our oldest traditions.

"We're just hoping the book becomes a tradition with families, especially if they're families who haven't had much of a story and a cooking tradition because I think that we make it simple to love," said Yolen, who's written a hundred-plus books. "Cooking and telling stories are the way to have that wonderful family time that we're all regretting that we don't seem to have anymore."